Women's shelters facing ups, downs

On the same day that neighbors filed suit to stop construction of an emergency shelter for abused women and children in Rolling Meadows, operators of the northwest suburbs' only existing emergency shelter announced they had won $800,000 in grants to expand in Elgin.

The well-established Community Crisis Center has been described by residents as an "excellent neighbor," and with the grants from the Grand Victoria Foundation, the agency is far ahead of schedule in raising the $2.5 million needed to renovate its facilities.

But its leaders remember that when the shelter opened in 1975 and later relocated within Elgin, it faced the same kind of opposition that shelter advocates in Rolling Meadows are facing.

Gretchen Vapnar, executive director of the Community Crisis Center, said the center was able to allay neighbors' fears about increased crime and declining property values, but it took a lot of time, rigid rules and a long track record of safety.

To serve the northwest suburbs, there are shelters in Elgin, Waukegan and Wheaton, and they're often full, agency officials said. Abused women and their children end up staying in hotels, cars, on relatives' floors or finding a shelter far from their jobs and their children's schools.

Or they remain with their abusers.

The domestic-violence agency Women in Need Growing Stronger has been trying since last fall to build a shelter for about 40 women and children in Rolling Meadows, but neighbors have fought them.

Rebecca Darr, executive director of the Palatine agency, was surprised by the outcry but hoped it had ended in early June, when the City Council narrowly approved zoning changes that would allow the shelter to be built.

But on Monday some residents sued Rolling Meadows for what they say was a misinterpretation of the zoning code. The lawsuit seeks to void the city's approval and prevent it from issuing building permits. The residents declined to comment.

Wrong use, lawyer says

Their attorney, Mike Zimmermann, said putting a shelter in a residential neighborhood is the wrong use for the property. The shelter's address has not been disclosed to protect future residents.

"The lawsuit is simply to make sure their rights as written protesters are respected by the village and that the rules are followed," he said.

Mayor Thomas F. Menzel, who remained hopeful that all sides could meet and work out a solution, said the lawsuit disappointed him. "It's not the best utilization of resources for the neighborhood or for the city in terms of spending money on attorneys," Menzel said. "It's divisive for the community. It polarizes at a time when you should be coming together."

Vapnar has empathy for both sides of the debate in Rolling Meadows. Before joining Elgin's Community Crisis Center in the mid-1970s, she headed a neighborhood group that opposed the initial shelter site, arguing that the surrounding residential neighborhood already was strained by halfway houses and other special uses.

"If everyone could choose their neighbor, we'd probably all rather have a country club," she said. "We're worried about property values, because for many people, it's the biggest investment of their lives."

But she said: "I think the most you can say is, it's not going to affect your neighborhood as much as you think. I think to treat their objections as legitimate is definitely what needs to be done."

Other shelter now welcomed

Vapnar said the center worked to be a good neighbor through strict rules, tight security and building improvements. When the agency relocated to bigger quarters in an old school, it did so, despite opposition, because of the center's track record and good timing. The historic school was in a declining area and was in danger of becoming a parking lot, but it had supporters who wanted to save it.

"I don't know that everyone in the neighborhood came around and thought it was a wonderful idea, but they did see we improved the property and didn't cause any major problems," Vapnar said.

The shelter, with nearly 40 beds, has not had any physical assaults or neighbors injured, Vapnar said. Batterers show up a few times a year, but the police promptly remove them, she said.

The shelter has not hurt property values either, said Linnea Carlson, who lives across the street.

"I think they've been an excellent neighbor," she said. "I'm trying to recall even what the fears were all about."